According to a statement by the State Council in Beijing, Premier Li Keqiang chaired the 3rd Plenary Session of the State Council on Wednesday, designating Ho Iat Seng as the fifth-term chief executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), adding that Ho will be sworn into office on December 20.
The session reviewed a report from the Macau government on Ho’s election as the fifth-term chief executive of the MSAR, and also heard a report on the process of Ho’s election from Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, the statement said.
Li remarked that the election of the fifth-term chief executive of the MSAR was “law-based, complying with the Basic Law and other related laws” of the MSAR, and follows the “principles of openness, fairness and justness”, the statement said.
Li said Ho’s electoral victory showed Macau society’s extensive support for, and confidence in Ho, the statement noted.
According to the statement, Li noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland.
According to the statement, Li pointed out that over the past 20 years, the MSAR government has governed Macau according to the law, the region has enjoyed rapid economic development and comprehensively improved its social conditions, and its people live and work in contentment with the support from the central government and the mainland.
Li also pointed out that the “One Country, Two Systems” principle has been successfully implemented in Macau “with many characteristics and highlights”.
Li stressed that Macau’s development is closely linked with that of the mainland, and the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) will bring new opportunities to Macau, the statement noted.
Li also stressed that the central government will “unswervingly” advance the practice of “One Country, Two Systems” and “Macau people governing Macau” with a high degree of autonomy, as well as fully support the MSAR government and its chief executive to discharge their duties, develop the economy, improve the living conditions and enhance harmony in strict accordance with the Macau Basic Law, the statement said.
Li said he believed that Ho, after taking up his post will lead the new administration and Macau people from “all walks of life” to create new prospects for Macau’s development and ensure the successful practice of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, the statement noted.
Li signed Ho appointment decree on Wednesday, the statement said.
Meanwhile, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) Wednesday night, Ho will travel to Beijing between next Tuesday and Thursday to receive the State Council’s appointment decree.
Ho, born in Macau in 1957, is a former president of the Legislative Assembly (AL) and a former member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC). Ho was elected by the 400-member Chief Executive Election Committee on August 25. He garnered 98 percent of the votes.
After Wednesday’s appointment by the State Council, Ho is Macau’s Chief Executive-designate. Until Wednesday’s appointment, he was Macau’s Chief Executive-elect. He is slated to be sworn in on December 20 for a five-year term, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the MSAR. Ho, a veteran community leader, lawmaker and businessman, will be Macau’s third chief executive as his two predecessors, Edmund Ho Hau Wah and Fernando Chui Sai On, both served the maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. According to the Macau Post Daily, Chui term ends at midnight on December 19.
